Improved mold for button-making



G. MATTHEWMAN & A. LEININGER.

Button Making.

No. 48,082. Patented June-6; 1865.

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GEORGE MATTHEYVMAN AND ANTHONY LEIPINGER, OF BROOKLXN, N. Y.

IMPROVED MOLD FOR BUTTON-MAKING.

Specification forming part of LQHILIS Patent No. 48,082, dated June 0,1565.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, GEORGE MATTHEW- MAN andANrrroNY LEININGER, ofBrooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Molds for Buttons; and we dohereby declare that the following is a full and exact descriptionthereof.

The accompanying drawings form. a part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a cross-section of the lower portion of our mold in positionfor use. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same, showing also aportion of the upper die; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the lowerportion.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures.

Tints are employed to aid in distinguishing parts, and do not imply adifference of material. The material of the whole may be iron or steel.

Our invention relates to the manufacture of that class of buttons inwhich theeye, formed of bent wire, is secured within a plastic mass,which 011 hardening forms the head or main body of the button. It isapplicable to those buttons which are madeof glass and the like gons toplaster, which hardens by time. WVe will describe it as employed inmolding glass buttons.

We form our lower portion in two parts, adapted to embrace the eye andhold it very stiffly, leaving the ends of the wire of which it is formedprojecting upward,.these ends bein the glass. Forming the lower portionin two parts allows us to fit the mold around the eye very closely, andthus to avoid the tilting of the eye in different directions, so as toset obliquely in the button,and also to avoid! the necessity for any capor littlewasher of thin metal, which is frequently employed to reducethis evil. previously made, the washer or cap, as it is generallytermed, is necessaryin order to prevent the plastic material of thebutton from exuding or being forced to a considerable depth into thecavity for the eye. This difficulty is. entirely avoided by ourinvention. XVe form.

As these buttons have been.

these parts with a shelf or shoulder to facilitate the placing of theeye, as will be explained below, and support the parts in such a mannerthat the pressure of the upper die tends to hold them very firmlytogether. \Ve prefer'to connect the parts of the lower die by stouthinges or knuckles directly below the button, especially when only onerow of buttons is to be produced at a time, and in such case we providehandles extending in a line parallel to the axis of the hinge, as represented.

Our invention allows us to manufacture a long line or series of buttonsat a single operation, and by duplicating the parts, as will beexplained below, we may produce two, three, or more series or rows ofbuttons at a single operation. WVe can take the material directly fromthe melting-pot and form it illtOybHlitOllS by our molds without thenecessity for first forming it into bars or rods and afterward re=heating.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention, wewill proceed to de=. scribe its construction and operation by the .aidof the drawings, and of the letters of ref= erence marked thereon.

material, fused by heat, and to buttons analo-u j A is a substantialbed, on which the lower die proper is intended to rest when ready formolding.

Band C are the two parts of the lower die. They are hinged together bythe tapering pin 1D, which passes through the stout lugs projectingdownward from B and O, as represented.

ing, properly headed or barbed to hold firmly 1 E E, 850., are the eyesfor the buttons. They are formed of brass wire, and are properly formedby suitable machinery. (Not represena ed. Recesses equal in depth tohalf the diameter of this wire are formed in the parts B and 0,respectively, and adapted to fit closely to the exterior of the curveformed by the eye, as indicated in Fig. 2.

c is a shelf or projection of the part 0, which extends into the-part B,as indicated in Fig. 1.. This shelf is inthe plane of thehlowermostpoints in the eyes Eand of-the corresponding, recesses for said eyes, sothat in placing the eyes it is only necessary to open the parts B and Oa little distance and drop theeyes; into.

their positions, so as to rest 011 the shelf 0. Then by closing theparts B and O tightly together each eye is held firmly in its properposition. In this condition we introduce the compound lower die, B and0, upon the bed or rest A, as indicated, and by a rapid movement stretchthe melted glass in a continuous stream or string along the line of theeyes, so as to cover each to a sufficient depth. lVe then bring down theupper die, G, with great force by mechanism not represented, and pressthe glass into the proper shape, excluding by the pressure thesuperfluous glass, if any. On lifting the upper die, G, and removing thelower die, B and G, from the bed A and opening it, the'buttons arereadily removed, and on new eyes E being supplied the series ofoperations are repeated. The screw F aids in adjusting the position ofthe lower die, B C, and corresponds with the upper die, G.

\Ve can with suitable precautions make a long series of buttons at asingle operation by making our lower die, B O, and our upper die, G, ofconsiderable length. \Ve propose in some instances to duplicate theseries by introducing a middle part, (not represented) and forming aseries of recesses to receive the eyes E on each side of this middlepart. lVe can make the middle part to slide in or to be simply droppedinto its place and secured by suitable means; but we prefer, in caseonly two rows of buttons are to be formed at once, to hinge all three ofthe parts, so that they shall, in opening, turn on the common center D.6 propose to duplicate the number of parts, and to vary the means offixing and adjusting the parts in many ways which readily suggestthemselves to any good mechanic, the purpose being to embrace the eyesmore tightly and closely about the neck, or the point where they arejoined to the buttons, than can be done in the molds ordinarily used.Our upper die, G, may be depressed by a lever or series of leversoperated by hand, or by any other suitable means.

In order to operate with a smaller pressure in molding a very long orgreatly duplicated series of buttons, we propose to employ an upper diein a curved form, and give it a slightly rolling motion, so that thepressure shall be concentrated mainly on a small portion of the extentof surface at any one time; but it is of course necessary in molding hotmaterial, that the operation shall be rapid. \"Ve can of course placewhat we have called the lower die, B G, in the uppermost position, andwhat we have called the upper die, G, in the lowermost position. I11other words, our molds may be inverted, or partially inverted, ifdesirable; but we term the parts upper and lower dies for convenience.

' It will be observed that the bearings of the parts B' and 0 upon thebed A are at and near their outer edges, and that these parts are notdirectly separated beneath the hinge D. Ve prefer this arrangement forthe rea 'sonthat the pressure of the upper die, G,

upon the material of the button, being transmitted through the parts inthis condition, causes the parts B and O to turn or tend to turn veryslightly on the axis D as a center, and thus to compress the parts B andO with very great tightness around the neck of the eye E during thebrief period while the glass is being molded.

In the simple form of our mold represented in the drawings thehandles 1) and c, which are cast on or otherwise rigidly fixed to theparts B and 0, form convenient means for manipulating the molds. Theheat of the melted glass should pervade the parts B and C and the partsG about equaliy, so as to cause a uniform expansion; but if, for anyreason, this cannot be done, the part which becomes less heated shouldbe formed of brass or a more expansible material than the other parts,so as to expand equally. The handles 1) and cwill in all cases remainreasonably cool and allow the molds to be operated with comfort.

\Ve do not confine ourselves to hinging the lower die, B O,by means ofthe parallel bolt or axis D. Ve may apply these parts together bylocking them in various ways, or by hinging them at one end, and causingthem to swing open, like a carpenters rule; but we prefer theconstruction represented in the drawings.

It should be remarked that the placing of the eyes in their properpositions in the recesses in B and C will be much facilitated byinclining the open parts or laying them in a half-inverted position, sothat the eyes will keep their places by gravity until the parts areclosed.

WVe do not confine our invention to the manufacture of buttons of theprecise form here indicated, or even to the manufacture of articlesknown in the trade as buttons, but can manufacture by modifications ofthe parts, which will be obvious to any mechanic, the several varietiesof studs, pins, and other articles of ornament and use in which eyes,shanks, hooks, or projections of other kinds or names, composed of brassor other analo gous material, are embraced within and are thus firmlysecured to a head or expanded part made from plastic material.

Having now fully described our invention, what we claim as new in themanufacture of buttons, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is asfollows:

1. Constructing the lower die in separate parts,B and 0, adapted toclose tightly around the neck of the eye E, substantially in-the mannerand for the purposes herein set forth.

2. In connection with the above, the shelf 0, or its equivalent,arranged as represented, and adapted to support the eyes E, and aid inplacing them in the die, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

3. Supporting the parts B C on the bed A,

so that the pressure of the upper die, G, upon nearly parallel to theaxis D, substantially as the face of the buttons shall cause the partsBand for the purposes described.

and G to be sprung or compressed moretightly G. MATTHEWMAN. together,substantially in the manner and for i o ANTHONY LEININGER. the purposeherein set forth. I \Vitnesses:

4. The arrangement of the handles 1) c on ENGELBERI. SOHMYTH, the parts13 and O, and standing parallel or 1 PAUL MILLER.

